Austin City Limits Festival returned to Zilker Park for a second weekend, Friday-Sunday, October 13th-15th.
While the forecast for Weekend Two of Austin City Limits Festival was outfitted with plans for pants and a sweater, Day One turned out to be rather warm. Festivalgoers adapted their weekend looks and gathered at the Honda Stage at 2:25 PM for Thee Sacred Souls. The band quickly cooled off the crowd with their soothing sound, almost taking you back in time with their classic soul-filled style. Singer and songwriter Josh Lane asked for hands to see if the crowd was vibing and was met with thousands of fingers pointed in the air, confirming the feel. When the band of three, accompanied by their talented back up vocalists played their hit “Will I See You Again” early in their set. The crowd was thrilled.
Soon after, across Zilker Park where the festival is held, fans of all ages stormed the American Express Stage to see Lil Yachty. The “Poland” rapper surprised festivalgoers with a full on rock band to accompany his performance. Yachty, sporting a vintage Mercatone Uno cycling jersey, exclaimed to the crowd that “Weekend Two is way crazier than Weekend One,” while fans moshed and even crowd surfed another fan in a wheelchair towards the front. As the show progressed so did Lil Yachty’s energy, packing in all the hits and showing his ability to spit acapella flows preluding “Minnesota”. He even joined the crowd himself to add to the hype.
A larger than life crowd began to gather at BMI, one of ACL’s smaller stages, for The Moss, to make their festival debut. Fans lined the rails with their signs eager for the band to start. The surf-rock band from Utah took to the stage shortly after 5 and delivered. The set was packed with energy and had lead singer, Tyke James, jumping and kicking his vans into the air.
Around 6PM Major Lazer, a late addition to the ACL line up after Kali Uchis couldn’t make it, turned things up on the Am-Ex Stage with their normal high-amplitude. The trio made up of Walshy Fire, Diplo and Ape Drums, stood tall upon a large LED wall showcasing their Jamaican-American sound, accompanied by remixes of club favorites. Their set also included lots of cool production and back up dancers to add to the hype of their set. If you’re wondering what color Diplo’s hair was this week, the answer is still pink.
At the same time French Kiwi Juice played the Tito’s Stage. ACL’s only covered venue was the perfect place to house FKJ, as it allowed for his moody visuals to be seen easily as it accompanied his groovy, soothing sounds. The looper moved from side to side as he blew strummed and twisted different instruments on stage, showcasing his range of musical talent.
Across the street at the IHG Stage The Revivalists played at 7:10 PM. As the sun was setting the music began. The whole band putting their bodies into motion as they busted out “Kid” to begin the show. Fans young and old could be seen swaying in the crowd. Lead vocalist, David Shaw, could be seen bouncing around the stage giving his attention to the fans that attended. Ed Williams, the steel guitar player was even epically-tipping his instrument towards the crowd.
Headlining the Honda Stage for the evening, The Lumineers opened up the night with the namesake track of their sophomore album Cleopatra (QRO review). Holy folk, they had the crowd in awe as they appeared closer than life on the catwalk before them. Playing hit after hit to the fans who many of whom just bought a pass to see their show.
About 20 minutes into The Lumineers set, drones could be seen across the park making designs in the sky for the thousands of fans gearing up for Kendrick Lamar’s performance to finish off the last Friday of ACL 2023. Much anticipation was built for this particular set due travel delays for Lamar prompting a short show in Weekend One (QRO recap). Opening with “N95” the biggest track of his latest album, Lamar erupted the atmosphere at the festival. His set was a perfectly executed art piece that echoed old-Kanye energy. It was truly something special to hear “backseat Freestyle” a track off Lamar’s debut album ring out at Zilker Park once more with thousands rapping alongside him. He graced the fans with quite a few old songs while threading in tracks from his other albums as well, ending the night with the ominous track “Count Me Out”.
